GGAB Fitness Training Regime - Day 16

I am absolutely exhausted! The sweat is pouring down my face, my calves feel stretched out, and my thighs are burning!

That’s right, I did today’s GGAB Fitness Training Regime at night. It didn’t happen on purpose though, it was kind of an accidental mash-up of events that made me do the training later in the evening. I’m certainly not going to sleep at a good time because of this…

Before we get into more of the details for day 16 of the GGAB Fitness Training Regime, you should check out the Badminton Training Regime #2 – GGAB Fitness Training post if you haven’t already to get touched up on what we’re doing here.

Done? Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

The Exercises

Quick jog and stretch
10 sets of 20 pointing footwork

3 sets of 20 squats with hip rotation
5 sets of 12 squat jumps
3 sets of 20 calf hops

3 sets of 20 calf raises
5 sets of 12 lunge jumps
3 sets of 1-minute regular fast feet

3 sets of 1-minute side fast feet
3 sets of 1-minute front and back fast feet
3 sets of 10 laps up the stairs

Cooldown and stretch

As you might be able to see, I’ve applied the same HIIT idea from yesterday onto today’s workout as well.

I apply the HIIT on to too many exercises though as I felt that they already had just the right amount of intensity. The two activities that I did use HIIT on was the squat jumps, and the lunge jumps.

You’ll also notice that I increased the times for the fast feet to 1 minute from 45 seconds. The combination of these changes has increased the intensity of the exercises a lot.

Again, the key to maximizing your potential through these exercises is the speed that you do them at. Going full speed will allow you to build more muscle strength and endurance.

Another thing I want to talk about is how much your body can improve in endurance and stamina.

From week 1, I suspect that I got what many trainers and body-builders call “the beginner’s gain” where I suddenly jump many levels. After week 2, that progress has definitely slowed down.

Although with every day I can feel my footwork getting faster, see my body build a better form, and feel better, I am not quite getting that feeling of “I can do anything from the first week.”

That’s why despite talking about adding weights into leg day and even more exercises, our routine has remained relatively the same with minor increases. After all, slow and steady wins the race!

Just a little bit that I thought whoever that’s going to start their own training regime might find useful.

Diet and Sleep

Now onto diet and sleep. Let’s start with sleep first.

It was basically the same story today as all the other days so far, I slept at 12 AM and woke up at 8 AM. And tomorrow doesn’t seem like it’s going to be any better with the time I’m writing this post at being later than many of the other posts.

Although it seems like I’m getting decent rest, I’m actually becoming restless with this kind of schedule. Even though I sleep around 8 to 9 hours, I am waking up tired, unmotivated, and with bags under my eyes.

These are definitely signs that I need to improve the quality of my sleep.

So while I am trying to alter my sleep times, I should also improve my sleep via a few things. Currently, one of the things helping me sleep is a humidifier that I am using. The sound and feel are very calming. Plus, when I add in some peppermint oil, the pleasant refreshing smell helps me fall asleep.

But I need to improve my sleep quality further.

Here are two things that I’m currently attributing my most significant problems to; thinking about too much and looking at a screen before sleeping. I definitely need a strategy to clear my mind and also stop myself from looking at screens too late.

I am currently formulating plans to change these bad habits, and I will share them if they’re successful!

As for the meals I’ve eaten today, I was able to get a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each meal was relatively small, but it was enough.

For breakfast, I had an egg, some water, and a few croissants. Then for lunch, I had another egg and some fried rice. Then for dinner, I had fried rice again (different kind though). Pretty dull and simplistic and maybe lacking a bit of fruit and veggies.

For the next few days, I plan to try and eat better as well. Hopefully, I will give myself enough time to do it!

Thoughts and Feelings

Let’s go back to the introduction where I was talking about how much I am sweating and the burn I’m feeling in my legs. I am going to talk about doing the workout at night versus the morning and afternoon.

What I can say so far is that I don’t like it. Even though studies are reporting that you use less oxygen at night, leading to better performance, doing the workout at night is both physically and emotionally exhausting especially after a long day of things that just happened.

What caused me to train at night was an exam in the morning to afternoon time, and then going to work from late afternoon into the evening. It certainly wasn’t ideal for me.

So then is the morning the best? Or is it the afternoon?

I have to say the morning.

The morning is when I have the most energy and am the most pumped about the training regime. I can get through all of the exercises and then be even more motivated for the other thing I have to do in the day.

Of course, you may become physically exhausted after training in the morning for the rest of the day, but that’s solved with the afternoon freed up.

With nothing to do in the afternoon and 2-4 PM being a time that many people consistently get drowsy at, I can spend that time power napping to recover energy for any other work that needs to be done in the evening.

Running with that schedule will certainly help you get through the training as well as build more productivity hacks.